NASA has finally shared details for nine possible regions it could use as Artemis III landing zones on the Moon. The Artemis III mission is one of the most exciting and highly anticipated space missions of the next decade, and so far, NASA has been very close-lipped about where it plans to put astronauts down.
While we aren’t expecting Artemis III to launch anytime soon—the latest Artemis II delay likely means we’ll have to wait even longer for the third mission—many have been eagerly awaiting more details from NASA. The space agency has finally caved and shared details for nine regions it could put its next moon lander down in.
All nine of the possible Artemis III landing zones are located near the lunar South Pole, which astronomers believe could hold exciting secrets like moon beads holding crystallized water. This new list of possible candidates has been refined even further from NASA’s initial list and includes—in no specific order—the following areas:
- Peak near Cabeus B
- Haworth
- Malapert Massif
- Mons Mouton Plateau
- Mons Mouton
- Nobile Rim 1
- Nobile Rim 2
- de Gerlache Rim 2
- Slater Plain
Now, whether NASA decides on any specific region anytime soon remains to be seen. With SpaceX’s recent success at catching Starship during its fifth test, the Artemis missions don’t seem quite as out-of-reach as they did just several months ago when SpaceX could barely keep Starship from exploding during its first test flights.
While NASA doesn’t plan to use Starship for every part of the journey, SpaceX will play a vital role in putting humankind back on the moon for the first time since the 1970s. NASA also says that when selecting these possible landing zones for Artemis III, the team assessed the capabilities of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Orion capsule, and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ensure they will work with each region.
